Daily Archives: September 7, 2024
Wondering where the fish have gone
Howard Kantner watches for hits on the net.
KOTZEBUE — It’s raining again, the wind rising and waves sloshing over the grass. I’m yanking at corkline, struggling to stack my salmon nets into old army totes, to protect them from mice and weather for another winter. Commercial fishing in Kotzebue Sound is closed, over before it really started. A complete bust, exponentially worse than any in the past 51 years I’ve participated in this fishery. Catches were dismal in July and many of us assumed — or tried to believe — that the run was late. Rumors swirled around town: about beluga whales, killer whales, warm water, cold water, and villagers up the Noatak and Kobuk rivers catching runs we’d allegedly missed. I didn’t believe it and kept hoping the dearth of fish was tied to changes some of us have noticed over the decades: how the peak of the run has been arriving later and later in August. Our last best season, two years ago, was slow in July, and in August more salmon flooded in than we’d seen before. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:05
Miraculous Survival: Lost Fisherman Rescued After 2 Days Adrift, Saved by Floating Debris
In a remarkable story of survival, a fisherman who fell overboard was rescued after floating adrift at sea for two days and one night, relying on floating debris to stay alive. The incident, which took place off the coast of Satun province, has been hailed as nothing short of a miracle. On the morning of September 3, Sunthorn Khaosom, 56, a crew member aboard the fishing vessel ‘R. Chai Navi’, accidentally fell into the sea about 10 nautical miles off the coast of Satun. Despite immediate efforts by the vessel’s captain to notify authorities and begin a search, Sunthorn could not be found. It wasn’t until the evening of September 5 that the Third Naval Area Command was alerted by staff at the Koh Bulon Mai Phai National Park in Satun, who reported finding the missing fisherman on the island. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:17
Cleanup, investigation underway after fishing boat sinks at Stokes Bay
The Canadian Coast Guard confirmed Friday that a diesel spill is being cleaned up after the Coast Guard responded to a report of a fishing boat sinking at Stokes Bay dock on the Bruce Peninsula. Pollution containment equipment encircles the vessel, while crews are working to remove pollutants using specialized equipment, the Coast Guard said by email in response to Sun Times questions Friday afternoon. The vessel was reported sinking Thursday. “The size of the spill and plan for vessel recovery are yet to be determined. The CCG conducted a helicopter overflight for aerial pollution observation, and CCG personnel remain on location today to monitor the spill site.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:55
Mass. and Rhode Island pick 3 new wind projects, with less power than originally sought
Massachusetts and Rhode Island announced the winners of their joint offshore wind auction on Friday. While this total is less than half of what the states originally sought to procure, it helps bring them closer to their legally binding offshore wind targets. Friday’s news comes after nearly two years of economic tumult in the industry, when developers up and down 
the East Coast canceled contracts for wind projects, saying they could not make them financially viable because of inflation, higher interest rates and supply chain problems. Still, not everyone is celebrating the news. Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, said he was “shocked” that the New England states are awarding more contracts less than two months after a blade broke off a Vineyard Wind Project turbine. In mid-July, the blade sent tons of fiberglass and foam debris into the ocean. Much of it washed up on the south side of Nantucket, and several beaches had to close while the material was cleaned up. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:20
DFO defends cut to herring quota that company claims forced N.B. layoffs
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is defending its July decision to reduce the herring quota in the Bay of Fundy, after a major New Brunswick employer blamed the decision for major layoffs. “We recognize the economic impacts this decision will have on the families and communities that rely on income from fishing and processing herring,” said Lauren Sankey, DFO spokesperson, in an emailed statement late Friday afternoon. Connors Bros., a herring processing company in Blacks Harbour, near St. George, announced this week it’s laying off 20 per cent of its workforce, which is estimated to be about 100 people. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:22
